Comments on: Rogue Software Lies – Hang Onto Your Money!

By: Jeff Myers

Jeff Myers — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:30:34 +0000

Great info! I have had two of these infections… both times i got all of those popups and i was about to go crazy. I was about to just pay them so the popups would stop. haha.. glad i didn’t.

thanks for the enlightment!

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:53:27 +0000

Hey Aibek.

Very cool comment! Thank you.

Bill

By: Blue Onion Software - Onion Peels Blog - Friday Links #6

Blue Onion Software - Onion Peels Blog - Friday Links #6 — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:59:15 +0000

[...] Rogue Software Lies – Hang Onto Your Money! – These products look so legit it’s hard to believe they’re rouge. Very enlightening. [...]

By: Aibek

Aibek — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:28:21 +0000

Great read, I rarely stumble MUO articles but this one desrerves it. Thanks Bill!

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:45:51 +0000

Hey Shankar,

Awesome is an awesome word!

Thanks Shankar.

Bill

By: Shankar Ganesh

Shankar Ganesh — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:52:09 +0000

Awesome post, Bill. Will refer to this article and will be forwarding to my friends.

Thank you.

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:12:45 +0000

Hey Peter,

Very valid point. If we could all run as a non-administrator, particularly when exposing our machines to the Internet in all it’s various forms, our overall security would be enhanced dramatically.

Thanks Peter, for bringing out a point that we should all be aware of.

Bill

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:13:00 +0000

The most reliable solution, but also most difficult to implement, is not to run your machine as a local admin. Most viruses and spyware operate with the security permissions of the current user. So if you don’t have write permission to the system folder or permission to install software, the rogue applications won’t either.

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:12:55 +0000

Hey Ben,

Thanks for the comment. Very cool.

Bill

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:04:28 +0000

Great article!

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:03:03 +0000

Hey Lee,

Thanks for the comment – I’ll check it out.

BTW “Web of Trust” now has a version of their Internet Browser plugin specifically for those who are colorblind. I’ve got a review of it on Tech Thoughts.

Bill

By: Lee Mathews

Lee Mathews — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:58:11 +0000

mvps.org hosts file blocker is another good option…Also search MUO for the “Web of Trust” plugin article…It’s a great addon for some extra security. Probably not so useful for the red-green colorblind, since it alerts you with colored donuts.

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:33:17 +0000

Hey Mike,

Another solid suggestion!

Thanks Mike.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:12:47 +0000

Another suggestion is to use OpenDNS. Turn on their filters and you can avoid many of these rogue web sites automatically. Great article.

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:05:48 +0000

Hey Lee,

Thanks for making this excellent point.

By: lee

lee — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:55:24 +0000

One big omission: this kind of alert usually comes from a SmitFraud variant. You can get smitfraud fix here. It's dead simple to use, just make sure you're in safe mode when you use it - and run it on EVERY user account.

By: Bill Mullins

Bill Mullins — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:40:39 +0000

Hey Karl,

Thanks for the cool comment. Love the G.I. Joe quote; it really fits – surfing the Internet is more and more like walking through a minefield!

Bill

By: Karl L. Gechlik

Karl L. Gechlik — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:26:43 +0000

Great article Bill! I run into these each and every day. Removing them is not the issue explaining to end users why they should not download software to protect their computers that they are not familiar with…

Like GI Joe used to say “Knowing is half the battle!”